Who painted On reprend son bien ou on le trouve?

On reprend son bien ou on le trouve was painted by Honoré Daumier in 1840.

Where can I see On reprend son bien ou on le trouve?

On reprend son bien ou on le trouve is held by National Gallery of Art.

What movement is On reprend son bien ou on le trouve?

On reprend son bien ou on le trouve is associated with Romanticism.

Artwork

On reprend son bien ou on le trouve

Honoré Daumier , 1840

On reprend son bien ou on le trouve is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Honoré Daumier. It dates from 1840 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

About this work

Overview

The work is a lithographic print titled *On reprend son bien ou on le trouve*. Executed in black and white, it depicts a compact scene in which two figures dressed in early‑nineteenth‑century clothing are locked in a physical confrontation, one clutching the lapel of the other. The background hints at an urban environment through faint architectural outlines and a solitary figure at a distance.

Subject & Meaning

The central action focuses on a moment of conflict, emphasizing personal tension within a public space. By isolating the struggle against a barely rendered cityscape, the image invites reflection on social interaction, power dynamics, and the immediacy of human confrontation in a crowded, modernizing world.

Technique & Style

Created by lithography, the print relies on the contrast of stark black ink against white paper to model form and movement. The artist employs expressive shading to delineate musculature and clothing folds, while the minimal background is rendered with soft, indistinct lines, allowing the figures’ gesture to dominate the composition.

Context

The attire and setting place the scene in the early 1800s, a period of rapid urban growth and social change in Europe. The work reflects contemporary concerns about public disorder and the shifting nature of personal encounters amid expanding city life, echoing broader artistic interests in realism and everyday drama.

Artist & collection

Artist

Honoré Daumier

Honoré-Victorin Daumier was a French painter, sculptor, and printmaker, whose many works offer commentary on the social and political life in France, from the Revolution of 1830 to the fall of the Second French Empire in 1870.